Immigration crime cases fill federal courts in 2017

Immigration crime has become a common feature of federal court dockets across the United States. I previously wrote that in fiscal year 2016 there were 68,314 defendants prosecuted for federal immigration crimes (see similar accounts of 2012 and 2010). Approximately 10,000 fewer defendants had their cases disposed of in the 2017 fiscal year, which might explain a small drop in immigration-related imprisonment, but the overall trend as similar. In the fiscal year that began under President Obama and ended under President Trump, there were more defendants prosecuted for immigration crimes before [...]

Crimmigration and Race

By Allison Crennen-Dunlap “The Age of Nations has passed. Now, unless we wish to perish we must shake off our old prejudices and build the earth.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Human Energy 37 (1969). Writing in 1969, dissident Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin envisioned a radical future toward which humanity was building—a future beyond nations and divisions in which all human beings could share as equals in their common dignity. Sadly, humanity has not lived up to Teilhard’s vision, beautiful as it was. In Race, Criminal Justice, and Migration Control (2017), [...]

Abolish the ICE Prison Complex

Locking up migrants fighting to stay in the United States is permissible, the Supreme Court reiterated in February. The Court’s ruling mocks justice, but isn’t a big surprise. The federal laws under the Court’s consideration breathe life into a mean-spirited immigration law enforcement regime that holds tightly to the misguided belief that migrants pose a threat that prisons are best suited to extinguish. In Jennings v. Rodriguez, five justices overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing migrants detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [...]

4 ICE prisoners dead so far in FY18

Seven months into the federal government’s fiscal year and so far at least four people saw their final day in ICE’s custody. The four deceased were all men: Kamyar Samimi, 64; Yulio Castro-Garrido, 33; Luis Ramirez-Marcano, 59; and Gourgen Mirimanian, 54. All but Mr. Ramirez-Marcano were held in private facilities prior to their deaths. The four deaths through April 30 put ICE on track to come well within its typical annual death toll. ICE’s recent uptick in the number of detainees held daily, however, suggests that we might see an increase in the second half of the fiscal year. As the [...]

Legal limits on military deployment along US border

On Tuesday, President Trump said he plans to deploy military personnel to the United States border with México. The President’s plans may run into problems with longstanding prohibitions against using the military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Sitting next to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, President Trump said: “We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things — I’ve been speaking with General Mattis — we’re going to be doing things militarily…Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military. [...]

ICE transitioned from Obama to Trump with record high daily detention population

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency continues to ramp up hardline immigration policing practices, government-issued statistics about the number of detainees indicate. In the transition year that began under President Obama and ended under President Trump, ICE surpassed previous highs in its immigration detention network. In fiscal year 2017—running from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017—ICE detained, on average, 38,106 people every day. Called the “average daily population” in official reports, the FY 2017 figure is an increase of approximately 4,000 from the previous year [...]

ICE detention population closed Obama era at record daily high

By at least one important measure, the immigration detention system run by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency closed the Obama era holding more people than ever before. During the 2016 fiscal year—the period from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016—ICE detained, on average, 34,376 people per day. See DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Budget Overview, Fiscal Year 2018, Congressional Justification ICE-14. According to ICE, it paid, on average, $128.88 per bed per day. Id. Compared to the rest of Obama’s tenure, the average daily population is a slight uptick from FY [...]

Immigration budget bill summary

Congressional leaders appear to have worked out a budget plan with President Trump that is expected to get through both chambers in the coming days. The budget bill, H.R. 1625, titled the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018,” helps Trump move forward with his border wall plans, but also imposes limitations on DHS’s immigration policing practices. The bill pays for federal government activities through September 30, 2018. Below is a quick summary of key provisions affecting DHS and the Justice Department’s immigration operations. DHS’s two main immigration law enforcement agencies, CBP [...]